Calliope

Musing: A go-to author disappoints

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 Many of us have those go-to authors … writers we follow on social media so we know exactly when their latest book will hit the shelves AND when it’ll be available for preorder. I scour NetGalley for my faves because I’m too impatient to wait for the publication date! 

What happens when you finally get one of those yummy advance copies? Or you wait up for your preorder to appear on your kindle? You eat it up, right? Maybe stay up all night, or stick a virtual bookmark in whatever you’re currently reading so you can get to THIS ONE. The one you’ve been waiting for. 

Until it disappoints. That awesome writer did something different this time. And maybe some people like it, but you don’t. You can’t stand it but you keep reading because it’s GOT to get better, right? It’s by a wonderful author, after all! Aaaaaannnnnndddd it doesn’t get better. You muddle through, and then you hope it doesn’t happen with the next book by this writer. 

I don’t want to name names, but my latest disappointment included off-kilter character development and a weird/disjointed storyline. I thought the hero was just bizarre, and I was unsympathetic toward the heroine. What a downer after all those I loved by a favorite author. 

What’s your latest disappointment? 

-calliope

Review: From Bags to Riches by Sandra D. Bricker

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I like these Jessie Stanton novels. Jessie is a young woman who was burned by her no-good cheating ex husband, but made a new life for herself based on her love and talent for fashion merchandising. 

This third installment is probably my favorite– mostly because it’s the most romantic! The love stories don’t necessarily take a front seat, because there’s a lot going on in Jessie’s life; but the romance doesn’t take a back seat either. Besides the ex husband, Bricker writes men who adore the women in their lives, who blow off steam by getting back to nature (surf’s up), and who serve others as a way of serving God. 

Not a preachy novel by any means, Bricker uses upheaval in Jessie’s life to show how a faithful circle of support can make all the difference. Jessie’s girlfriends love her unconditionally and help her focus on her business. The God-fearing men who surround Jessie help her focus on her heart. 

In the end, the good guys win in ways we don’t usually think about, and the heroine learns to lean on a new person for the really important things in life. 

-calliope 

Buy FROM BAGS TO RICHES

Review: A Girl’s Guide to Moving On by Debbie Macomber

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A Girl’s Guide to Moving On is a REFRESHING look at getting over someone, developing a support system, and meeting new people. 

I so appreciated that Nichole and her mother in law Leanne leaned on each other and really loved each other. Making them live so close to each other was a little forced, perhaps, but it made the rest of the story flow: Nichole running into Leanne during a tough time, Leanne babysitting Nichole’s young son, etc. 

The ex-husbands are slimeballs, but I guess even slimeballs have redeeming qualities. Macomber does a good job allowing for situations where the reader might sympathize with them, yet not quite take their side. 

As a romance fan who adores a good happily ever after, I’ll tell ya that Nichole’s friend Rocco was a terrific hero. He may not have outwardly shown sophistication or refinement on a regular basis, but he certainly demonstrated it at the end when it truly mattered. Likewise for  Leanne’s friend Nikolai. Nikolai knew when to step back and when to step up, and I could’ve just cried over all the bread baking going on. Read it, you’ll see. You might want to start baking bread for – and breaking bread with – someone special, too. 

-calliope

Buy A GIRL’S GUIDE TO MOVING ON

Review: Written on My Heart by Morgan Callan Rogers

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I loved this book about young newlyweds struggling to prioritize their marriage, children, employment, roots, and friendships. Dottie and Florine have a close, sisterly relationship based on honesty and support. Bud and Glen base theirs more on beer than honesty, and Morgan Callan Rogers outstandingly illustrates their desire to balance machismo and independence with responsibility and growth. I enjoyed seeing the men develop and regress, and then finally take the steps forward to become better men. 

The women change, too.  Through the grace and lovingkindness of her mother in law, Florine discovers the best way to demonstrate love to Bud… without compromising her values. Dottie grows in confidence and is able to be her authentic self — and a happier person. 

I adored this study on the ebb and flow of relationships, set in “local” down Maine. I liked the intertwined mystery, the ever-presence of Florine’s late mother, and the constance of children’s joy and a mother’s wisdom. 

-calliope

Buy WRITTEN ON MY HEART
 

Review: The Friends We Keep by Susan Mallery

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Life sure surprises us. Maybe we get comfortable for a while, but sooner or later the road we’re on takes a sharp turn. How we handle the turn makes all the difference. 

So it is with friends Gabby, Hayley, and Nicole. Whether it’s upheaval in marriage, with children, or at work, the ladies lean on each other for support and laughs. 

The ladies really worked on being good people to themselves and each other. It was nice to read good conversation that reflected positively on women and their families. 

The beginning seemed very planned, bordering on contrived. I felt like I could practically see the framework of the plot — and it should be invisible to the reader!  However, as the characters grew into themselves, the story flowed better and seemed more natural.  The development of secondary characters helped, too. 

By the end, Mallery had me crying. I appreciated each character, flaws and all, and I saw exactly why these friends were keepers. 

-calliope

Buy THE FRIENDS WE KEEP

The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee by Talya Tate Boerner

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Gracie Lee rocks! She has a mean, alcoholic father, a timid mother, and a copycat sister. They’re in Arkansas in the 70s, where the success of the cotton crop determines life or death, and the path to heaven is via the local Baptist church. 

Gracie Lee cuts through as much baloney as she can. She plays with her Barbie and dumps beer down the drain when her daddy isn’t looking. She confides in the church pastor when she really needs an adult who will listen and guide. Best of all, Gracie Lee invents her own little mystery that allows her to feel like she’s needed and valued. 

Gracie’s story is charming and poignant and smart. I laughed and cried.  I also got pretty mad – which goes to show how invested I was. Why anger? Well…

Gracie Lee’s dad really ticked me off, especially when he asked her for a favor at the end of the book. Ugh, like she owed him ANYTHING, especially something that she would burden her. Selfish selfish man. 

This book was a little slow, but really a wonderful story that I’m grateful to have experienced. In the end, I think Gracie Lee saved HERSELF with her cleverness and courage. And personally I believe she had some backup from the man upstairs. 

-calliope

Buy THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE

Musing and Review: The Spring at Moss Hill by Carla Neggers

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You know when you start a book and it’s just terrible? And you try to decide whether it’s a Did Not Finish, or whether you’ll stick it out? I’m experiencing that with this book right now. 

First, though we rarely write reviews where we don’t recommend a book, I really can’t recommend this book UNLESS you really want a nice, New England-y story and you don’t care about the writing so much. 

From the beginning Neggers pushes anxiety, worry and fear. I had no idea why everyone was running around scared, why a private investigator was hired, why certain characters showed such contrived reluctance to be transparent. Then when I finally sorted it all out, I was still confused why Neggers made such a big deal out of some very little issues. 

Anyway, this book needs a rewrite. It could use streamlining, some re-organization, and some changes in how it begins. Big edits. 

I’m sticking with it (currently at 60%) because I like to know how books end. And despite the disorder, I’m sort of invested in a couple of characters. 🙂

-calliope

buy THE SPRING AT MOSS HILL

Review: Good at Games by Jill Mansell

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I’m always up for a few hundred pages of fun when they’re written by Jill Mansell. If you’ve never read her British chick lit, pick up Millie’s Fling or Staying at Daisy’s – my two Mansell faves. And if you’re already a fan, try Good at Games. It’s not Mansell’s best, but it IS unique and enjoyable. 

Main character Suzy finds herself engaged to a man she doesn’t love – or even really like anymore. Meanwhile, Suzy has chemistry with his brother, she lives next door to her ex-husband, and takes in her long-lost half sister. Between the the love triangle, misunderstandings, and sneaking around, Good at Games is a comedy of errors that had my head spinning! 

Though a little convoluted for my “fluff” tastes, this book gets thumbs up for fresh, fun characters and a happily ever after. 

-calliope

Buy GOOD AT GAMES

Review: The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

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Sara flies from her home in Sweden to nowhereville, Iowa to visit a pen pal and fellow book lover, but when she arrives, nothing is as she expected. The people surprise her, the town isn’t much of a town at all, and her old standby — books — are hard to come by. So she makes a plan and makes some friends and puts the pieces of her life back together. 

In the course of telling the story, Bivald writes in some contrivances that just made certain aspects of the plot too obviously fake to me. I also noticed that as I read I kept asking myself, “is that supposed to mean something?” Maybe Bivald wanted to integrate symbolism in places? But those were just two bumps in the road. 

Most of the book went along quite smoothly, introducing the reader to some stereotypically exaggerated characters (the old maid, the gay guy, the town drunk) which, to me, made Sara seem all the more plain and subdued. But she surprises people and makes waves in her own way. 🙂 

I really loved that Sara shared her love for reading in the best, most apt way possible. She shared herself through those books, and I could feel the other characters’ gratefulness. 

The best part of the book was the happily ever after because it gave me that “sigh, everything is as it should be now” feeling. Settled. Which is something Sara only felt at the very end as well. 

-calliope

But THE READERS OF BROKEN WHEEL RECOMMEND

Review: Anything For You by Kristan Higgins

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I love Kristan Higgins’ books – always have. She writes hilarious one-liners that provide comic relief when things get heavy. Higgins writes authentic, deep characters… people I feel like I know, even though they’re fictional. 

Higgins’ Blue Heron series adds beautiful scenery and a vineyard backdrop to the mix. I almost feel like this series is a saga – generations of families, light politics, and family owned businesses play a big role. 

Anything For You is number five in the series. Connor has been in love with Jessica forever, but even after a decade she holds him at arm’s length. Oh the angst, my friends. I mean, you know (hope) there will be a happily ever after, but for so long things are looking grim! I was tense in the shoulders waiting for the other shoe to drop. And drop it did, though not in the way Connor or Jessica or I imagined. 

The love story rocked (in all its angst), the subplot of new employees at O’Rourke’s and the vineyard — totally hilarious, and the recurrence of past characters in cameos was precise, deliberate, and perfectly placed. 

I’m just going to keep on loving these Blue Heron folks. Thanks, KH! 

-calliope

Buy ANYTHING FOR YOU